Lurking in the woods MEV huts

The MEV Cabin is a forest retreat designed by Studio Jean Verville for two clients whose admiration for the studio's image-driven narrative approach and shared passion for 1980s art and Italian design led them to commission a sanctuary in the woods. The cabin accommodates the couple's daily life while channeling their whimsical energy, aligning naturally with the studio's disruptive design methodology. The architects approached the building through collaborative spirit and humor, then refined it with architectural mathematical precision, resulting in a bespoke alternative universe. Inspired by the rebellious Memphis Group of Italy, the MEV Cabin explores the relationship between geometry and color, establishing concepts that oppose the monotone, monochromatic architecture and design of its era. The cabin recreates the quirky universe of the 1980s through meticulous design, celebrating the multiplicity of references within a system rich in expression and contrast, allowing the two owners' distinct personalities to converse. To integrate with the natural environment, the residence-studio presents organic, primal forms that play against their materiality through carefully crafted curves. The cabin's luxury lies in its image-rich interiors, where volumes and materials interact like colors on a shimmering palette. A stream running through the site determines the building's eclectic placement. On the south side, the linear arrangement of rooms allows continuous views of the stream. On the north side, two distinct volumes connected by a fully glazed entry space read as an extended louvred facade, unified under a single roof. The roof's form was generated from functional mathematical logic through Boolean operations, then redefined by offsetting ridge axes. The design hides storage and structural necessities within the volumes. Textures, colors, and materials fully explore visual impact, investigating how light refracts in a kaleidoscope and applies it to spatial design. The Laurentian forest welcomes MEV Cabin as a place to live and work, building an atmosphere of vitality and freedom.